Tonight’s tasting was hosted by Winnie Ng and Richard Wong of Whisky Concerto. After introductions, Winnie explained how Richard and she got involved in the whisky business, and summarised their current activities: Whisky Concerto, which focuses on bottling; Cask Le Sens, primarily focused on cask acquisitions and sales; and Ruiseart Spirits, which is their retail arm. Both Richard and Winnie are from Hong Kong, although Winnie now lives in Finland.
They brought along six whiskies for us to taste.

1. Benrinnes 13 year oldBottled under the Cask Le Sens label, this 13 year old Benrinnes was distilled in 2011, stored in a refill bourbon hogshead, and bottled at 55.5% in 2024. It was bottled for a friend of Richard’s in Hong Kong.
   A very smooth dram, it had vanilla notes on the nose, and a creamy texture on the palate, with fruity notes, particularly banana, and a long, creamy finish with more vanilla notes and a lot of heat.
2. Concerto Recital 3.2 Peated Blended MaltThis 7 year old “blended malt” (a teaspooned Ardbeg) was distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2025 at 58.8%. It had been finished in a second-fill palo cortado quarter-cask. This bottle was actually taken straight from the bottling line and so was a “Duty Paid Sample”.
   There was no great sense of peat on the nose, but it was immediately apparent on the palate to some (although others found the peat hard to detect). It was nicely fruity, and had a warm, briny finish.
3. Concerto Recital 57.2 Ardmore 2012Distilled in 2012, this 12 year old Ardmore has been bottled at 57.3% and has been finished in an ex-Caol Ila octave (being from an octave, there is a very small outturn – this was one of 80 bottles).
   A nicely peated dram, with a coal-smoke character on the nose which is an indicator of the strong influence of the Caol Ila cask. Quite fruity on the palate, but with a long, dry finish.
4. Single Malt Whiskey from Cooley PeninsulaThis triple-distilled Irish whiskey was the subject of an experiment by Richard and Winnie: matured in Ireland for the 3 years required to allow it to be called Irish whiskey, it was exported to Taiwan, where it was matured for a further 951 days in a first-fill Amontillado hogshead. The climate in Taiwan is such that the “angels’ share” is around 6% per annum, so making for a much more intense maturation.
   Light on the nose, the Cooley had a slightly salty, gingery taste, with the sherry coming through on the palate and leaving a pleasantly hot, savoury finish.
5. Shizuoka 2017This Japanese single malt (a private cask of Richard’s) was distilled at the very end of 2017 and bottled in May 2022, making it 4 year old. With an ABV of 61%, it was matured in a bourbon quarter-cask.
   A light dram, delicate on the nose, with strong tannins on the palate, and oaky vanillin; interesting chestnut notes on the finish.
6. Peated Blended MaltA “teaspooned” Ardmore, this Whisky Concerto bottling was matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead for 6 year old and bottled in May 2024 at 59.5% ABV. From the same cask as the third dram, this batch was finished in an ex-Glenlossie cask, which has given it a different character (and, obviously, without the Caol Ila notes!).
   Peat and fruit on the nose are followed by more peat and autumn fruits on the palate, drying to an ashy dryness on the finish, with the fruit notes lingering.

Conclusions

The six whiskies all went down well with the audience – so well, in fact, that it proved difficult to identify a favourite! The Shizuoka may have won, but probably only because a decision had to be made.
This was an interesting and enjoyable tasting, and Winnie and Richard had managed to choose a selection of their drams that closely met the audience’s tastes. There were quite a few enquiries about purchasing some of the whiskies, and we were advised to keep an eye on the Ruisearts website:

https://www.ruiseartswh.co.uk (where interested parties can also register for updates). Other websites which might be of interest are:
https://www.whiskyconcerto.com
https://www.casklesens.com

Dave Brown